Bratilclious Litha Sapien's blog: "Lycan Woods"

Time Line of Events. . . From 140 000 BCE (Before Common Era) to 1999 140 000 BCE: Humans and wolves establish a common bond. DNA shows dogs evolved from wolf ancestors about 135 000 and humans evolved with them 75 000 BCE: Discoveries are made of Cults based on creatures such as bears, wolves and other animals. 25 000 BCE: Cave paintings are made by the Franco-Contrarian cave artists. The depicted anamorphic figures like humans with the heads of animals. 6000 BCE: Cave paintings of hunters with leopard skins show how hunting was common among early tribes. 3000 BCE: The Sphinx of Egypt is made. It had the body of a human and the head of a lion, showing God-like power and spiritual nature of the world. 2000 BCE: It has been suggested that this was the date Epic of Gilgamesh was writing, the first written tale of a were creature like being. 1000 BCE: Tales of transforming become popular in Greece. Gods/Goddesses and even hero's can change themselves and others into different creatures. 850 BCE: It has been suggested The Odyssey (Homer) was written. Many were creatures and shape-shifters were written about, such as Circe who turned people into pigs. 750 BCE: The given date that Remus and Romulus founded Rome. Both brothers had been suckled by a she wolf in their earlier years. 540 BCE: Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, suffers a mental illness in which he acted like an animal. He allowed his beard and hair to grow. This state lasted for nearly 4 years. 500 BCE: The Scythians believed the Neuri turned themselves into werewolves during a yearly, religious festival. 100-75 BCE: Great Roman poet, Virgil, told about a werewolf, Moeris, and claims he had learned magic such as raising the dead. 28: Jesus of Nazareth exercised 2 were/ghoul type men, who lived among the dead in a cemetery outside of Gararenes on the shores of Galilee 150: Apuleius traveled to Thessaly where he encountered magical practices of shape shifting and was turned into an ass. 175: Pausanias, a Greek traveler, geographer and author, goes to Arcadia and sees Lycanian Werewolves. 410: St. Augustine, a clergyman, told of sorceresses who gave cheese their victims cheese that would make them turn into creatures of burden. 650: Paulus Aegineta said that "melancholic lycantropia" was a black and dimal frame of mind. People who had "melancholic lycantropia" would leave their homes and wander in cemeteries, taking refuge behind the tombstones, and saw themselves as werewolves. 725: The approximate date that Beowulf was written. It was a poem about a Viking (a likely member of a boar cult) who fought against a monster. 731:Venerable Bede tells of a host of were creatures that haunted the night. 774: The Chronicles of Deny's tell about wolf like monsters that terrorized what is today the region of Iraq. 840: Agobard wrote about evil demons of the mountains. It was said that they appeared as man-beasts. 872: The first reference to the Berserker, fierce warriors who went into battle wearing animal skins, was in haraldskvaeoi 906: Belief in witchcraft or powers of sorcerers that could change humans into animals was condemned. The Christian Clergy was determined to stamp out all allegiance to the Goddess Diana. It was believed that witches had supernatural powers and that humans could be turned into werewolves. 930: Pope Leon hears about 2 sorceresses who change some of their guests into animals for amusement. One victim is said to have regained his true form by eating roses. 1000: Deacon Burchard stressed that only God could change shapes of humans. He claimed that stories of wild men and women of the woods, and acts of shape shifting magic were false, and that type term "werewolf" meant outlaw. 1022: The first heretic is burned in Orleans 1101: Prinve Vseslav of Palock died. he was an alleged werewolf. 1182: A welsh Historian, Giraldus camrensis learns of an Irish tribe with members that turns themselves into wolves at their Yuletide Feast. 1198: Marie de France composed Bisclavret, the "Lay of a Werewolf". 1205:Abbot Ralph of Essex describes strange demons who appear after thunderstorms. 1214: Gervaise of Tilbury reports cases in Auvergne in which men were seen to take the forms of wolves during a full moon. 1220: Caesarius of Heisterbach (Author of Dialogue of Miracles) describes numerous accounts of shape shifting, pacts with Satan, and mysterious flights through air. 1257: The church officially sanctions torture as a means of forcing witches, werewolves, shape shifters and heretics to confess. 1275: A woman in Tolouse is found guilty of sexual intercourse with an incubus and of giving birth to a child who is half wolf, half snake. 1300: Volsunga depicts an outlaw father and son who become werewolves and establish a dynasty. 1324: Ireland's first witchcraft trial occurs when Alice Kyteler is found guilty of consorting with a demon who could appear as a tall man, a black cat, or a shaggy dog. 1344: Witch Hunters announce they have found a wolf child at Hesse. 1407: Werewolves are tortured and burned at the stake in Basil at witch trials. 1521: Three werewolves of Poligny, were accused of eating children and consorting with she-wolves. They were burnt at the stake after confessing they achieved their transformations with a magic salve. 1697: Perrault's Contes includes "little Red Riding Hood." 1848: The moon turns blood red during an eclipse and sets off an epidemic of werewolf sightings. 1888: Jack the Ripper terrorizes London with his werewolf like slashing and mutilations of prostitutes. 1999: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejects an attempt to patent a technique for creating human-animal hybrids.

Wolves in Native America: Historical records of the wolf legends of American Indians, the native peoples of North America, show that the wolf was revered, probably because of its devotion to its family and its pack - a devotion which parallels the relationship between an Indian and his tribe. Because native peoples, like wolves, defended territory and hunted and killed to survive, they admired the wolf's prowess in doing so. The wolf's survival skills spawned many Indian legends, including the Eskimo story of Qisaruatsiaq, an abandoned old woman forced to survive on her own. She eventually turned into a wolf. Many tribes most revered pure white wolves, ascribing them incredible powers. The Sioux name for wolf is shunk manitu tanka , the "animal that looks like a dog but is a powerful spirit." A number of native American tribes had medicine men who donned wolf skins in order to duplicate the powers of the wolf. One such was the Kwakiutl wolf dancer. His mask, made to look like the head of a wolf, was constructed of wood and bone. The two tribes that identified most strongly with the wolf were the Pawnee and the Cheyenne. The Pawnee identified so closely with the wolf that their hand signal for wolf was the same as the hand signal for Pawnee. Other tribes referred to them as the Wolf People. To the Pawnee, the appearance and disappearance of the Wolf Star (Sirius) signaled the wolf coming and going from the spirit world, running down the bright white trail of the Milky Way, which they called the Wolf Road. Canada's Blackfoot Indians also called the Milky Way the Wolf Trail or Route to Heaven. The Pawnee, Hidatsa, and Oto Indians all had wolf bundles, pouches of wolf skins that guarded treasured bits of feathers and bone used in magic and ceremony. Cheyenne medicine men rubbed wolf fur on arrows to bring them good fortune in hunting. Cherokee Indians would not kill a wolf. They believed that the brothers of the slain wolf would avenge its death and the weapon used for killing the wolf would not work again unless it underwent exorcism by a medicine man. They sang a song and walked in imitation of the wolf to protect their feet from frostbite. The Nootka Indians of the Pacific northwest had a ceremony in which it was pretended that the son of the Chief was killed and brought back to life by Indians wearing wolf robes and wolf-head hats. The ceremony reinforced the close spiritual ties they believed they had with the wolf. Other Pacific Indians had similar beliefs. The Niska of British Columbia had four principle clans: Raven, Wolf, Eagle, and Bear. Both the Tlingit and Tsimsyan Indians of coastal British Columbia used wolves as characters on totem poles, believing wolves to be gods. British Columbia's Bella Coola Indians refused to eat the bear but they respected the wolf so much that when a bear was killed and its hide removed, a song was sung to the wolves to invite them to eat. The North American Indians mentally became wolves through animist societies. The Arapaho had a wolf division. The Caddo had a wolf band. Montana's Crow Indians had a Crow Wolf Society whose members draped themselves in wolf skins prior to hunting. The Cheyenne wolf soldiers were the best known of all Indian wolf societies. They were fierce fighters dreaded by settlers and white soldiers alike. The Mandan wore wolf tails on their moccasins as a badge of success in battle. Assiniboine Indians wore white wolf skin caps into battle for luck. Hidatsa women experiencing difficult childbirths rubbed their stomachs with wolf skin. Some tribes believed that killing a wolf would cause the big game to disappear. This view was completely opposite to that of some modern hunters. Alaska's Ahtena Indians propped up dead wolves and their tribe's shamans ceremoniously fed the wolves meals. It was common for Indians to interpret natural history in terms of wolf behavior. A number of tribes thought that the wolf howls after eating in order to invite scavengers such as birds and rodents to come and eat. Many tribes believed that wolf howls were the cries of lost spirits trying to return to Earth. Many Plains Indians expressed the four cardinal points in terms of animals. The bear represented the west, the mountain lion the north, the wildcat the south, and, the wolf stood for the east. The Cree believed that heavenly wolves visited the earth when the northern lights shone in winter. Of the hundreds of recorded Indian wolf legends, one of the best known is the Cree story of the Earth-Maker Wolf and the creation of the world. While all the land was covered with water, the trickster Wisagatcak pulled up some trees and made a raft. On it, he collected many kinds of animals swimming in the waters. The Raven left the raft, flying for a whole day, and saw no land, so Wisagatcak called Wolf to help. Wolf ran around and around the raft with a ball of moss in his mouth. The moss grew, and earth formed on it. It spread on the raft and kept on growing until it made the whole world. This is how the earth was created. Baltic Wolves: The wolf's glittering eyes caused it to be associated with celestial events such as comets, lightning, the full moon, and falling stars. These events were thought to increase the wolf's natural ferocity and strength tenfold and awaken psychic and other worldly forces within him. If a wolf came across amber he was believed to sniff the stone in order to receive power and enter into a mystical communication with astral forces. The Ghost Wolf and Snowdrift: In long-gone days of Montana two of these magnificent predators proved so adept at avoiding hunters and so skilled at feeding upon man's domestic stock as to become enshrined in the state's myth and folklore. So infamous had these two wolves become, that they were nearly accorded the attention given to such human predators and anti-heroes as the James Gang, the Youngers or the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. The press referred to these wolves as "outlaws," while the government and stockgrowers' organizations offered rewards to the bounty hunter who could bring them in. Indeed, if one were to give in to the temptation to attribute human emotions to animals, it would seem that these two wolves had declared war on the stockmen who had been the driving force behind their species' near extinction. These two wolves who simply failed to surrender to man's superior technology, who refused to recognize that there was no longer a place for their kind in Montana, achieved such notoriety as to be given names. The first of these outlaws was known as the Ghost Wolf, the second was called Snowdrift. According to local lore, the Ghost Wolf was first sighted in the Judith Basin Country in 1915. The Ghost Wolf's home range stretched from Highwood Mountains to the Little Belt Range, an area of some million acres. It was in 1920 the Ghost Wolf turned outlaw and began raiding the ranches of the Judith Basin, pulling down cattle, sheep, and horses at will. By the mid-1920s, so feared and famed had this prairie pirate became that the Associated Press began to run stories on the Ghost Wolf of the Judith Basin, while local ranchers offered a $400 reward for his capture--Wanted Dead or Alive. And so ensued and wolf-hunt that would rival that of any man-hunt in annuls of the Old West. Traps were set, poison bait were scattered across the length and breadth of Central Montana. Possies were formed to bring the outlaw wolf to "justice." Men hunted the Ghost Wolf on horse back, foot, and snowshoes; from automobiles and airplanes, all to no avail. For ten years the Ghost Wolf evaded the best that man had to throw against him. Some sources estimate that all told the Ghost Wolf killed nearly two thousand head of livestock the during the "Roaring Twenties." In May 1930 the Ghost Wolf finally met his end. Al Close, a rancher in the Little Belts, with the aid of Mike, a red Irish terrier, and Nick, a black and white sheep dog, tracked down and shot the Ghost Wolf. A near contemporary, both in chronological and geographical terms, of the Ghost Wolf was Montana's second great outlaw wolf, Snowdrift. Although the Snowdrift Wolf's home range also included the Little Belt Mountains and Judith Basin, at times, this great predator roamed across the Missouri and into the Bear Paw Mountains. Having lost one toe on his left paw in a trap, Snowdrift, a large light-colored male, left a distinctive calling card in the form of his three-toed track, at some 1,500 kill-sites during his career as a stock killer. Snowdrift first began to exact his toll from Montana's stockgrowers in 1900, it is estimated that by the time of his death in 1923 his predation had cost local ranchers over $30,000 in stock losses. After eluding the usual possies for well over a decade, Snowdrift was finally ran to ground in the Highwood Mountains in May 1923 by Don Stevens, a government hunter, and Stacy Eckert, a US Forest Ranger. Stevens and Eckert succeeded in snaring Snowdrift in a leg-trap. Catching the old outlaw in a trap did not, however, mean that this terror of plains would meekly surrender and await his fate. Snowdrift wrenched his trap free from its anchor and for days, with his front paw still clenched in the steel jaws of the trap, managed to elude his pursuers. Finally, after four long days Snowdrift was cornered and shot. Umm...Riiiiight... Jim Bridger was fond of telling a tale of an encounter with wolves in the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana. It was in 1829 as Bridger was setting his beaver traps that he was jumped by a pack of wolves. Bridger ran for his life and managed to climb to safety in nearby tree. After milling about for a while, all the wolves but one, who stayed behind as a guard, departed. In an hour or so the pack returned with a beaver which they forced to fell Bridger's tree. When queried as to what happened next, the old mountain man replied, “Why they ate me of course.”

Through the ages, the wolf has been depicted as everything from worshipped benefactor and spirit totem to hated devil and enemy of man.... Wolves once had the greatest natural range of any living mammal except man. Due to unregulated hunting, commercial exploitation and habitat destruction, they became extinct over much of their former range. This page and its contents are dedicated to the men and women who work so tirelessly to preserve the integrity, the spirit and the ever diminishing homelands of the wolf. Walk through history as these stories, poems and art from around the world bring you the myths, legends, and lore of the Spirit of the Wolf. Romulus and Remus: One of the earliest and best known legends involving wolves is the story of Romulus and Remus, twin sons of a Vestal Virgin who were banished to the wilderness and, before their rescue, were raised by wolves. The most popular version was written in A.D. 70 by Plutarch. The story however, originated around the fourth century B.C. and details how the twins went on to become the legendary founders of ancient Rome. Wolf Myths of the Middle Ages: During the middle ages, wolves were ascribed magical powers and wolf parts became an important part of many early pharmacies. Powdered wolf liver was used to ease birth pains. A wolf's right paw, tied around ones throat, was believed to ease the swelling caused by throat infections. It was widely believed that a horse that stepped in a wolf print would be crippled The gaze of a wolf was once thought to cause blindness Others believed that the breath of the wolf could cook meat. Naturalists of the day believed wolves sharpened their teeth before hunting Dead wolves were buried at a village entrance to keep out other wolves (a bizarre belief echoed today by farmers who continue to shoot predators and hang them on fence posts to repel other predators.) Travelers were warned about perils of walking through lonely stretches of woods, and stone shelters were built to protect them from attacks. Our modern word "loophole" is derived from the European term "loup hole," or wolf hole, a spy hole in shelters through which travelers could watch for wolves. Wolves in Greek Mythology and Culture: In Greek mythology, Charon, the ferryman, wore wolf ears. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the goddess Ishtar had the power to turn enemies into wolves. Hecate, the goddess of Death, was shown as wearing three wolf heads. In another Greek myth, a king named Lycaon was turned into a wolf by the god Zeus. (The name Lycaon survives today, in the gray wolf subspecies Canis Lupius Lycoan , the eastern timber wolf.) The Athenians had great respect for the wolf and decreed that any man who killed one had to pay for the funeral for the animal. Wolves in Norse Mythology: In Norse mythology, the god Odin keeps two huge wolves (Geri and Freki) at his side that accompany him into battle, along with two ravens which tare at the corpses of the dead. There is also the legendary Fenrir (or Fenris), a gigantic and terrible monster in the shape of a wolf. He is the eldest child of Loki and the giantess Angrboda. The gods learned of a prophecy which stated that the wolf and his family would one day be responsible for the destruction of the world. They caught the wolf and locked him in a cage. Only the god of war, Tyr, dared to feed and take care of the wolf. When he was still a pup they had nothing to fear, but when the gods saw one day how he had grown, they decided to render him harmless. However, none of the gods had enough courage to face the gigantic wolf. Instead, they tried to trick him. They said the wolf was weak and could never break free when he was chained. Fenrir accepted the challenge and let the gods chain him. Unfortunately, he was so immensely strong that he managed to break the strongest fetters as if they were cobwebs. After that, the gods saw only one alternative left: a magic chain. They ordered the dwarves to make something so strong that it could hold the wolf. The result was a soft, thin ribbon: Gleipnir. It was incredibly strong, despite what its size and appearance might suggest. The ribbon was fashioned of six strange elements: the footstep of a cat; the roots of a mountain; a woman's beard; the breath of fishes; the sinews of a bear; and a bird's spittle. The gods tried to trick the wolf again, only this time Fenrir was less eager to show his strength. He saw how thin the chain was, and said that was no pride in breaking such a weak chain. Eventually, though, he agreed, thinking that otherwise his strength and courage would be doubted. Suspecting treachery however, he in turn asked the gods for a token of good will: one of them had to put a hand between his jaws. The gods were not overly eager to do this, knowing what they could expect. Finally, only Tyr agreed, and the gods chained the wolf with Gleipnir. No matter how hard Fenrir struggled, he could not break free from this thin ribbon. In revenge, he bit off Tyr's hand. Being very pleased with themselves, the gods carried Fenrir off and chained him to a rock (called Gioll) a mile down into the earth. They put a sword between his jaws to prevent him from biting. It is said that the earthquake that begins Ragnarok (the Norse equivalent of the Apolcalypse) will shatter the invincible chain that binds Fenrir, at which time he will swallow the sun, beginning the three years of winter and then will join the giants in their fight against the gods. He will seek out Odin and devour him. Vidar, Odin's son, will avenge his father by killing the wolf. Of Turks and Wolves: Central and West Asian people who belong to Turkish speaking tribes believe that the culture's founders were mothered by a wolf. In Turkey there is an extreme nationalist group that call themselves the Grey Wolves. Genghis Khan also believed himself to have been mothered by a wolf. The fact that these war-like nomadic peoples revered the wolf so much shows the reverence they had for the wolves endurance, group cohesion and skill in hunting.

Werewolf Myths... * A Werewolf can only be killed by anything silver * No, Werewolves are just as fragile as everyone else and die from the same causes. *A werewolf changes into a wolf like beast every full moon * In reality, lunar cycles may affect a werewolves mood, like it can affect any ones, but werewolves change by will, not by the moon *If you are bitten or scratched by a werewolf, you too, become one. *again not true. Werewolves do not usually go around biting people. And if they did you wouldn't turn into one. Werewolves are usually BORN as werewolves, not made into them. * Witches and Sorcerers owned a belt made of wolf, or animal skin that could transform them into a beast. *No belts could possibly change a human. No matter WHAT they're made of. *Werewolves attack the innocent because they enjoy doing so *Okay, now... in werewolf legends, most are portrayed as brutal beasts. I'm not saying all werewolves attack because they like blood shed, But there is some truth behind that because werewolves do not need to survive on blood (Like vampires) and really have no other reason to attack. My friend Lucy gave me an article she found in the Weekly World News (A tabloid) So I thought I'd put it up. Some of the things in it are mentioned above... But here goes: "14 great ways to turn yourself into a werewolf Contrary to popular belief, you CAN'T be turned into a werewolf by being bitten by one. But there are at least 20 other ways you can really be turned into a rampaging wolf, folklore experts say! Much of what most Americans think they know about werewolves is pure Hollywood fiction. Even the notion that only a silver weapon can kill a werewolf originates in the classic horror flick The Wolfman, and has no basis in the historical records of the Middle Ages - when scores of people were tried for being werewolves and hanged. Experts in folklore point out a variety of ways that cultures around the world have traditionally believed a person can be transformed from human to wolf. Here are the most common: 1. Participating in the rituals of certain secret societies. 2. Wearing the pelt of a dead wolf or werewolf 3. Drinking water from a wolf's footprint. 4. Donning a special magical belt. According to Der Deutsche Volksund Aberglaube der Gegenwart, a 1925 book on German folklore, 'People change, mostly just for several hours, into werewolves by wearing a wolf belt on the naked body.' The belt is made of 'wolf's leather or human skin often adorned with the zodiac, and with seven tongues on the buckle ' the book says. To return to human form the werewolf must open the buckle. 5. Eating dust from a wolfs footprint. 6. Drinking water from a cursed spring known to be in the Harz Mountains in Germany. 7. Drinking downstream from wolves. 8. Wearing a cursed moonstone. 9. Eating a wolfs brain. 10. Dreaming about running with wolves. 11. Sleeping outside on a Friday night when the full moon can shine on your face. 12. Plucking a rare white marsh flower that grows only in the Balkans. 13. having sex with a werewolf. 14. In shamanistic rituals, gaining the wolf as your 'totem animal' or as a special guardian. Of course, becoming a werewolf is often beyond your control. Here are five ways you can be turned into a werewolf even if you don't want to be: *~* Being possessed by the soul of a wolf, a risk during deep mediation. *~* Being cursed by a god. This goes back to the Greek myth of Lycan, who was turned into a wolf by Zeus - giving us the scientific term for a werewolf, 'Lycanthropy'. *~* Being Born the seventh of seven consecutive daughters. *~* Being born on the winter solstice or Christmas Eve. When you reach puberty, the horrifying transformations are supposed to begin. *~* Getting cursed by a powerful witch or shaman." -By Michael Chiron, the Weekly World News. March 20, 2001 REMEMBER! THIS WAS TAKEN FROM A TABLOID. SO BASICALLY, IT AINT TRUE!

What is Lycanthrope? What is it?: "Lycanthrope: An extreme for of violet insanity in which a person imitates the behavior of a wolf" (In other words:) Lycanthrope is a condition where a person believes they are a Werewolf, or a semi-human creature. It is said to be a mental condition commonly linked to Schizophrenia. One with this "condition" believes they are an animal of prey... usually a wolf or dog, or sometimes other creatures like bears or lions. This is said to be where most werewolf myths came from. Lycanthrope is to most a disorder where you think and act like a certain animal. Definitions: Therianthropy: Therianthropy is SIMILAR to Lycanthrope. Therianthropes can mentally shift, but can usually wit for a better time to do it. A deep sense of peace can usually be experienced with Therianthropy, and it is said that a person becomes "one with the animal within" Common Theories behind "Werewolves" 1. Between the years 1520 and 1630 people were thought to be werewolves. One theory to explain why this happened is that peasants ate rye bread that was contaminated with fungus that acted as a powerful hallucinogenic. When they ate the fungus, they would have delusions that they could change form. The fungus (called Ergot) is as powerful as LSD. The Ergot would attach itself to the wheat and often go un-noticed. 2. It is also thought myths could have been started from CGH (Congenital Generalized Hypertrichosis). CGH is a gene that causes thick, black hair on the face and upper body. All people have this gene, but it lays dormant in most. Different types of shifting: when most people think of shape shifting, they picture changing their body physically. although this IS one type of shifting (Physical Shifting) it is not the only type of shifting. Mental Shifting: When a specific species within one's soul or spirit dominates over any other. Basically the creature within characteristics (i.e.: thinking, acting ect..) take over, or some to mind. This can usually be controlled. Physical Shifting: When your body changes into a different for I.e.: transforming from a human into a hawk. It is said by some that this form of shifting is impossible. It is said by others that people CAN shape shift physically, but usually don't tell any one. Astral Shifting: When you leave your body and shape shift your form (this is not physical shifting because, your body does not shift, your spirit does) Dream Shifting: When you shift while in midst of a dream. This is common, but few remember it actually happening to them. One usually Dream Shifts while having a nightmare and feel the need to escape a danger or if they are having a dream about shifting. What Are Werewolves? Funk & Wagnall’s: Werewolf: (wir-woolf) In European Folklore , a human being transformed into a wolf, or having the power to assume the form of a wolf at will. A Werewolf is someone who can turn into a wolf, supposedly by a full moon or by will. But not all "Were-beasts" are wolfs. There are some who claim to be other creatures be it a bear, or fox. Werewolves have also been a source of inspiration for Hollywood Movies and Books.

Freca / Freki Ravenous Wolf, Norse ------- Mordr-Vargr Killer Wolf, Norse ------- Wulfeort Wolf Hearted / Vicious, Norse ------- Wulfila Little Wolf, Norse ------- Ylfinger Children of the Wolf, Norse Someone descended from a werewolf

Latin Alternative spellings * vorsipellis [edit] Etymology versus, turned + pellis, skin Adjective versipellis m,f, versipelle n 1. shape-changing Noun versipellis, -ellis m 1. a werewolf

Therian Someone who pratices Therianthropy, or a person who feels a strong spiritual and mental connection to wolves ------- Therianthropy a person who feels a strong spiritual and mental connection to wolves, taking on the mentality and other characteristics of an animal ------- Theriomorphic 'thir-e-o-'mor-fik adj (GK theriomorphos, fr. therion beast + morphe form - more at treacle): having an animal form

Physical Shifting occurs when the lycanthrope's real and physical body actually undergoes the transformation from human to wolf, or werewolf, the state somewhere in between.

A phenotype is any observable characteristic of an organism, such as its morphology, development, biochemical or physiological properties, or behavior. Phenotypes result from the expression of an organism's genes as well as the influence of environmental factors and possible interactions between the two. The genotype of an organism are the inherited instructions it carries within its genetic code. Not all organisms with the same genotype look or act the same way, because appearance and behavior are modified by environmental and developmental conditions. Also in the same way, not all organisms that look alike necessarily have the same genotype. This genotype-phenotype distinction was proposed by Wilhelm Johannsen in 1911 to make clear the difference between an organism's heredity and what that heredity produces.[1][2] The distinction is similar to that proposed by August Weismann, who distinguished between germ plasm (heredity) and somatic cells (the body). A more modern version is Francis Crick's Central dogma of molecular biology. Despite its seemingly straightforward definition, the concept of the phenotype has some hidden subtleties. First, most of the molecules and structures coded by the genetic material are not visible in the appearance of an organism, yet they are observable (for example by Western blotting) and are thus part of the phenotype. Human blood groups are an example. So, by extension, the term phenotype must include characteristics that can be made visible by some technical procedure. Another extension adds behaviour to the phenotype since behaviours are also affected by both genotypic and environmental factors. Biston betularia morpha typica, the standard light-coloured Peppered Moth. Biston betularia morpha typica, the standard light-coloured Peppered Moth. Biston betularia morpha carbonaria, the melanic Peppered Moth, illustrating discontinuous variation. Biston betularia morpha carbonaria, the melanic Peppered Moth, illustrating discontinuous variation. Second, the phenotype is not simply a product of the genotype, but is influenced by the environment to a greater or lesser extent (see also phenotypic plasticity). And, further, if the genotype is defined narrowly, then it must be remembered that not all heredity is carried by the nucleus. For example, mitochondria transmit their own DNA directly, not via the nucleus, though they divide in unison with the nucleus. The phenotype is composed of traits or characteristics [3]. Some phenotypes are controlled entirely by the individual's genes. Others are controlled by genes but are significantly affected by extragenetic or environmental factors. Almost all humans inherit the capacity to speak and understand language, but which language they learn is entirely an environmental matter.